Thursday, 5 November 2009

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall.

There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known.

Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Taschima's POV:

A book where the phrase 'Cat got your tongue?' will pop up in your head from time to time.

Somewhere in London lives this little eleven-year-boy who cannot speak. Well, not literately. Just not with strangers. He lives with his sick mother, unemployed father, and little sister who's name is Marlo (strange name I know). Anyhow as the mother gets sicker the parents decide to sent their kids away to their uncle Roo, the mother's brother to a place called Medina Hill. In this fantastic land Dominic is faced with situations that would have never happened at home, things far beyond his wildest dreams. But, will he recover his voice? Or will it fail him when it is most needed?

As I read this book I came to like the characters. Dominic is this 11-year-boy who at first doesn't like to read and its very shy, but as the story progress he goes through much character development that in the end makes him not only more likable but admirable. His sister too goes through character development. She is a fine lad that little one. Another character that comes out of the pages is the Gypsy girl that Dominic meets. And the representation of an American in London will make you guys laugh, because it's sad but true.

I found that this book is more character driven that anything else. The story line is okay, but it doesn't get your attention as much as the characters do.

The ending was again okay, I would have liked to have had more information. Like how is his mother doing, or just something. But I guess it was okay.

Is an overall 3 star read, I liked it, but I did not loved it. It was slow at first, and that is bad considering that it only has 170 pages. But it's good for the age group is designed for.